Editor in chief: Alkis Polyrakis Editors: Danne Johansson Nikos Andreou Alex Brante Pedro Quaresma Robert Swift Darren Gurney Sub editor: Claire Rossiter Translator: Fabio Artuso Cover Art: Alkis Polyrakis Host: http://www.ko-gathering.com

Contact Information:

Address: The Aftertouch Magazine Eyterpis 31 15561 HOLARGOS ATHENS, GREECE E-mail address: [email protected]

Phone number: +306972009524 Hello again fellow KOAers, and welcome to the best issue of The Aftertouch magazine so far. If you thought the two previous ones were good, you're going to love this one as each page is getting more and more interesting. In fact, I doubt most of you will get to the bottom of this editorial as I know you're dying to get to the articles.. but I have to write it anyway. Some of you that haven't been in the KOA long enough may not recognize the gentleman in the cover. Well, even those who do know him may have trouble recognizing him as our make-up artists did their best to give him that 'Terminator' look that matches his nickname. Vasilis Vasiliou, also known as Bill21, explains why he decided to retire from competitive Kick Off and shares his thoughts on the KOA's current status quo in this month's interview. Some of the things he says will make us feel uneasy, and they certainly deserve our attention. I know almost all of us are guys here and therefore pay little attention to birth dates and anniversaries, but this one is not to be neglected: The KOA becomes three years old this month! Yes, time does fly by. We have prepared a complete flashback for you that tells the story of our existence trimester by trimester, accompanied with wishes of some of our distinguished members. Haven't you always wondered which players found in the Kick Off 2 disk are the fastest, which get tired too quickly and which are the best shooters? Are you intrigued by gossip trivia such as how tall is Fisher anyway, and what makes Lindsey impossible to budge? You don't have to wait a minute longer. The Aftertouch contacted the Hex expert Steve Camber for answers to those questions and is proud to present exclusively the complete attribute lists of all the players in Kick Off 2! Team A/B (International, Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, Division 4), France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Scotland, Spain and Sweden; they're all there. Consider it as a Valentine's gift from us to you. In the last month's issue we gave you a preview of one of the projects Steve Screech was working on, Kick Off 2004. This month Darren Gurney presents a preview of the other one, Ultimate Player Manager, Unfortunately, the making process has (temporarily we hope) stopped, and we can only wish that those ambitious titles will be completed one day. Kick Off 2 tournament rules. Should we change them? We do not know the answer to that question and we do not try to give it in The Wind of Change article. What we do is present the current World Cup rules, the changes that have been suggested and the pros and cons that have been discussed in the past, hoping to inspire a democratic and fruitful discussion in the forums. In the article, you will also find a suggestion on how we should decide on the rules. In addition to the world's top 20, the latest tournament news, and the 16-bit Jewel review (Nikos Andreou chose Benefactor, another underrated Amiga title), we have a new column for you. Robert Swift joined our staff and he will be unveiling the secrets of Player Manager in PLAYER MANAGER – From beginner to expert from now on. Enough with the prologue.. enjoy the read!

Alkis Polyrakis Bill Vasiliou, the Greek terminator

Interview with Alkis Polyrakis

Bill joined the KOA on November 2001. He played his first tournament a month later in Athens. He became famous in Gloucester, when he lost the title of the English championships to Rikki Fullarton due to a mere two goal difference. A great attacker, he was ranked #1 for 3 months: April & May 2002, and November 2002. It wasn't until recently that he was out of the top 10, after an entire year of inactivity. Not many people believed him when he announced his early retirement a couple of weeks before the 2nd world cup in Athens. Unfortunately, he has kept his word and has never played an official tournament since then. The Aftertouch contacted him during the Christmas holidays and took the chance to interview him. My advice to you is to read the pages that follow very carefully. You'll find out that Bill is more than a good KO2 player; he's a thinking person with plenty of interesting ideas. AP: Welcome to our humble magazine, prodigal son of the KOA.

BV: Hello Alkis. Thank you for calling me in your magazine, I feel honoured to be here.

AP: How do you like The Aftertouch magazine so far?

BV: I’ve seen the previous issue and I have to say it is looking great and shows the hard work and dedication put into it. Funny thing is, I was just thinking we should do something like that so you can understand my surprise when you mentioned The Aftertouch to me!

AP: Please tell us a bit about yourself, how old are you, what do you do, when did you get your first computer, when did you start playing Kick Off?

BV: Are there any women reading this, I don’t want to look too old! (laughs) Seriously, I’m 28 years old, currently working in British Telecomms as a Broadband IP Designer. I got my first computer back in 86, it was an Amstrad CPC6128 and loved it to bits. In June 89 I played Kick Off on a friend’s Amiga and from that day onwards couldn’t rest till I got my hands on one as well. It just so happened in November of the same year, I had to sell my Amstrad to get my Amiga 500 and of course, one of the first games I got was Kick Off. I’ve been playing it and subsequent versions ever since.

AP: What's the name of the joystick you're using?

BV: I’m using a Starfighter 2000, the same one I bought with my Amiga all that time ago and it’s my precious! Can’t play with any other joystick and feel clumsy even with my friend’s Spyros SF2000.

AP: How did you discover the KOA? BV: By complete accident of fate I have to say. I was searching for old PC games to download (like Eye of the Beholder) and there was this site where you could pick them. The guy had a zip for Kick Off and next to it he had text mentioning something about a ‘Kick Off 2002’. I followed the link and it got me to the very first site and forum. That’s where I found the KOA to my big surprise: people still playing KO2!! It was 2 days before you flew over to Dartford WC. You can imagine how much I wanted to be a part of that.

AP: What's your opinion on the new Kick Off games? Have you ever played Kick Off 2002?

BV: I feel a bit of a traitor in this area. I never played KO2002, mainly because my crappy old PC will not handle it but even so, I couldn’t get myself playing with a keyboard. Now that I’ve got a laptop from work and if I find a joystick adapter I’m willing to give it a shot.

AP: What in your opinion makes a 13 year old game so addictive that many people are interested in it, even today?

BV: Very simple answer really: it’s the best football game ever made. Nothing before and nothing after that comes any closer to giving the real football experience. In fact, in my mind I don’t even see it as a computer game but a gift of God to the football crazed fans who lack the skill to play the real physical game, kind of like me.

AP: 4-4-2 was the formation you used during your KOA career. You don't seem to like it any more. What made you select it in the first place, and why did you decide to ditch it?

BV: Actually I was a 5-3-2 man for 70% of my career games. I selected 4-4-2 when my team AEK Athens reverted to a zonal defence in 92-93 and wanted to imitate that and learn to counter the intricacies of that defence. So again, I was real football guided. While doing that, I really liked the positioning of the attackers, which is the best of all tactics, and significantly improved my attacking game, so I decided to stick with it, and with no humble success I may say. There are several reasons for leaving it. First, the re-learning will increase my waning interest in the game of lately. Second, I think that when I get round to it I will be even more efficient. I found that, although very effective overall, my attacking had become a bit predictable and a determined defender could mark me out of a game, while at the same time, the weaknesses in the centre of the tactics lead to goals I could do nothing about, mainly lobs. I think that with 4-2-4 I can introduce more creativity in my game and enjoy it even more. Defence will always be a problem, even more so with this tactics – but I may be able to stop some of the accursed lobs! (laughs) Seriously, I’ve seen people defend amazingly with 4-2-4, like Malcolm Angus, Rikki and lately and most importantly Martin Jeffrey (although I haven’t yet seen him I believe every rumour). So there’s hope in the tactics and being attacking in nature, 5-3-2 is not my cup of tea. Attack first, defend later. As yet, I consider myself at infancy stages since I don’t really practice.

AP: What did you think of the recent World Cup's results?

BV: There were a couple of small surprises for me at least. Without any disrespect to the top players, I thought that the winner would be one of yourself, Klaus, Martin Jeffrey or Panayotis. Seeing 2 out of 4 out of the semi finals was a bit of a shock. Speaking from experience though, it doesn’t matter how good you are, if you’re not in form for the 2 days, then nothing is for granted. I have no doubt that the best of the weekend got the top positions. One of the happy surprises was Martin Beard’s performance with the 4-3-3 tactic, which like my old one is considered heretic. I was so sad about Klaus early exit, the guy plays amazing attacking KO and, if that could be said in our cycle, I’m one of his biggest fans.

AP: What place do you think you'd have gotten, had you been in the 3rd world cup with enough time to practice beforehand?

BV: It’s really hard to predict with ‘ifs’. However, had I continued playing tournaments and with the emergence of Martin Jeffrey here, my game would be quite improved from the pre-Athens era (I don’t consider the person who played in Athens to be Bill21, not even in 50% of me). So, assuming a composed performance, I don’t think a place in the final 4 would be too unrealistic. You have to remember though, in competitions like this, form and determination themselves are not enough, you need a bit of luck to progress and anyone claiming they would win a competition like that don’t know the half of it.

AP: If you had to pick one, who is the best player you've ever played against?

BV: I knew you’d ask that! This is a very tricky question because I’m sure player Y will take offence if I name player X as ‘the best’, and vice versa, whether they openly admit it or not. In any case, as I’ve been saying for years, there is no such thing as ‘the best’ player. Not just in KO but in any sport. Not objectively anyway. But not to be told that I avoid the question, I would say Alkis. Reverting to third person speech I’ll give my reasons. He is the player that best negates my attacking play, adapts to any changes in my techniques very fast, is direct and efficient in attack and can frustrate you out of the game if he has to. Remembering how often I get to do ‘my stuff’ in the box against other top players, and how those may not even happen in a full half or a game against Alkis, I’d have to give my vote to him. Besides, I never got an official victory against him! I don’t know if Alkis is the ‘best’, but he is the most ‘complete’ player I’ve ever seen in KO.

AP: If you could manufacture a robot that had one skill from several Kick Off 2 players, which ones would you choose to make the best player ever?

BV: I’d have to say, Rikki’s ball control and dribbling, your defence and heading, my finishing, Klaus’ creativity and Martin Jeffrey’s composure.

AP: What other computer games do you play?

BV: Championship Manager of course, but the earlier version, CM3 because of my hardware. I don’t really play anything else on the PC but I enjoyed Morrowind and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic in my Xbox. In general, I like strategy and RPG games.

AP: Bill, 13 months ago you were one of the best Kick Off 2 players, ranked #3 in the world. However, you decided to retire from the competition right after the 2nd World Cup in Athens. In fact, if I remember correctly you had reached that decision before the world cup. A lot of people think that you never gave us a clear answer as to why you stopped playing. This is your chance to say everything that's on your mind.

BV: Actually ranked #1 pre-Athens but who’s counting? (laughs) This is a very big issue. I’ll try to be as brief as possible. I know people can be bored of my long posts so if that is the case skip forward, but for a group, however small, that will actually read and take the time to think for 5 minutes, this might hold a few interesting points. The situation stems from one thing: do we want to treat KO as a game or as a sport? In my time I’ve asked myself the question many times but still haven’t got the right answer. What bothered me most of all and sapped my endurance bit by bit were the constant fights and the way these were caused. I was about to walk out of the competition a few weeks before Glos I and it was the now-exiled Rikki that changed my mind. Shortly afterwards it was the versions wars, in my view the darkest page of the KOA that I witnessed. Blind stupidity. I remember how heated I became and the arguments I had and still cannot believe myself. The way I spoke to my good friends the Beard bros made me regret I even started to post and I felt like shit for weeks. Even though I was greatly relieved that we sorted things out, the bitterness inside me for the way I acted stayed on. However, the idea was getting more and more flesh in me. The last straw were the discussions for the World Cup final and the sheer stupidity of the Team A/B issue. I decided that this was it and only stayed on for the World Cup, as a token of respect to the efforts of the organisers. That’s when I announced that no matter what, that would be my last show. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the one I wanted either so I left with only the bitterness and nothing good to keep. What I don’t seem to understand is something that you recently posted on the forum but with different words. How can it be, that people so intelligent, people that outside the game I still like, and I like everyone I met in the KOA, when they come to post, and when they put their ‘Association’ hat on, become completely different persons, on whom sometimes even logic has no bearing. This ‘Association’ role- play mimics that of real associations like FIFA the FA etc. and again this is unfortunate because anyone seriously into football and with an objective mind will see that these are shite! Call it a coincidence but in my mind, I relate an ‘association’ as something trying to wreak havoc in the game it claims to support. Let’s make rules, let’s make guidelines of behaviour, lets dissect everything to its most minute detail, obey and you come in, accept and conform, be a non- conformist – proceed at your own risk, deny and you’re out. Madness. Certainly, my experience was that while I like all my KOA friends, the experience left me hating the game so much that I didn’t even touch it once for 6 months. Then there are the smaller things around this. The power-play. It’s not enough playing, if you’ve made a name for yourself you have to keep it. We are here, the big Brother, looking at you, your every performance and woe if you’re not consistent. We will analyse, criticise, discuss to the point of sickness, we will defame you for a fraud even though we haven’t ever seen you play – you’re not a player, you’re numbers on a scoreboard. You have to travel all around to play tournaments and keep your ranking points. This is no game, this is a sport, like tennis, and your fame depends on how often you play. You have players/reporters (and mostly non-players/reporters) posting the same crap articles I read in the Greek sports newspapers. If Bill wants to keep his fame, Bill has to keep practising every day and deal with any young gun that may arise: Martin J, Trevor, Panayotis, Nikos, Spyros and the list goes on. Fail, and you’re not as good as we thought. We will turn you from God to wretch in the course of one night. Thank you very much, that’s not for me. ‘Sticks and stones’ the Brits say, but you know the Greek saying. At the end of the day, maybe it’s not the KOA, maybe I have weak stomach. Either way, I’d have more fun away. The only thing that made me feel better and not consider myself a madman: a post I read from Martin Jeffrey about the pressure put on him to perform. So I’m not the only one after all.

AP: What is it about the World Rankings that bothers you that much?

BV: Again, it goes in the cycle of the stuff I mentioned previously. Again , I had foreseen it and begged to let sleeping dogs lie and never go ahead with the thing in the first place. Again I was shouted down. The world rankings put numbers next to people’s names and I don’t like that. It’s different from a league, that’s a one-off thing and has it own fun. But this is ever-lasting. It will be there to categorise you every day of your life. You will see yourself slip and then have to race for your precious points. And of course, it has nothing to do with real ability although it offers the foothold to be used as a comparison system. Even if there was the ‘God inspired’ mathematical formula to put accurate numbers next to people’s names, why would anyone in their right mind would want to do that? Don’t you have enough pressure in your own lives that you need to incorporate yet another system of comparisons in what’s supposed to be your fun time?

AP: Some people say that those who were over competitive to begin with did not become more competitive because of the Rankings, and those who didn't care about victories that much did not care after the Rankings either. In other words, the World Rankings did not change people's behaviour; we only blame them as the obvious excuse. Would you agree with that?

BV: I only agree with the superficial meaning of the phrase. True, people like Rikki like to be competitive (and it’s not a crime) and will be like that whether the system is there or not. People like Mark Elliott couldn’t care less and will be unaffected. But the phrase is hiding the truth, because there are people half way between the two extremes. The ranking systems serves to trigger additional competitiveness where normally there wouldn’t be so much. Take myself for example. By nature I am competitive. I thank God for it because it helped me achieve good things in life, gave me a motivation. And in the game, I like to win. But I don’t live to win. However, start putting comparisons around my name, then I’m bound to react, the competitiveness goes up a few levels. And it will affect my behaviour. Is it worth it, for a game? It’s good to have a competitive tournament, because it gives me a chance to ‘steal’ some of the feelings of players from my beloved sport, football. But leave it at that, go away from the formal tournament and be able to relax, with no numbers to keep following you every day and no Big Brother to watch your every dribble.

AP: Which of the KOA tournaments rules would you change if you could?

BV: (laughs) Where to start? I think the most stupid one is not allowing lineup changes. You can argue for days and bring a dozen of arguments why it should be as it is, but I’m sorry, I will not accept them. Not because I don’t want to, but because there can be no logic in them. It’s like saying ‘4-2-4 is the default tactics and people may not have experimented with the managerial part of things, therefore we should all play 4-2-4’! I mean, it’s so absurd that it makes me want to bang my head on the wall. I would even go a step further and allow PM teams to be used from a standard (but expanding if required) set. Makes the game more fun, certainly for me. I’d be more relaxed on colours, allow more of the default tactics, scanner sizes, single leg finals etc. I heard the argument ‘you need an accepted set so that you know with what to prepare’ and that ‘we’ve all had to make sacrifices’ but I can only laugh at those. You only prepare if you need to be able to win (come the competitiveness again) and we’re chopping down the game to the least common (or uncommon) denominator to make everyone unhappy in a smaller or larger bit. And we scorn at those who dare propose something different. Time and again I’ve seen new members come into the community, come with their new ideas and proposals, and then hitting a brick wall erected by the older members, seeming to say ‘this is how we do things, adapt as we all did’. You can imagine the disappointment of a newbie who will then have to do as he’s told, because he really wants to be part of the group. Obviously, we don’t want anarchy but we’ve gone on the other end. I’ve strayed from the question but this is important and would like to close this with a question to everyone on a subject that I hear was ‘hot’. Let’s talk of wind. Personally, I hate it. It ruins my game and would have less fun with it. However, other people do enjoy it, maybe to the degree that they see it as necessary as I see the ‘no wind’ option. Let’s assume there is a vote for it to be used similar like the versions. How should I vote? Do I vote for how I prefer to play the game or how it would be fair to all to play the game? In my books, I would vote ‘yes to wind’.

AP: You seem to dislike quite a bit of the KOA's current status quo. However, we have been alive for three years, during which we have hosted more than 100 tournaments, with more than 120 players participating in them. You have to admit that we must be doing something right.

BV: We are definitely doing a lot of things right. We have a common love or obsession for the game, each for his own reasons. We have good friendship bonds between us. That’s why we’re still alive. I’ll go a step further and say that because we survived fights our bonds are even stronger. But the phrase in itself holds the danger of leading to the fallacy that we’re doing everything right. We’re actually doing many things wrong as well. In my world, striving for constant improvement is a must – and the KOA should follow that. And the way to do that is by destroying any status quo, accepting the fact that maybe we’re not doing everything right, maybe we should listen more, be more open to other opinions regardless of whether the people voicing them have played 100 or 0 tournaments. Take pride in the work done but go a step further and discuss opinions as if we’ve done nothing, offered nothing. Pride and arrogance can be our fall and those are the behaviours we need to eradicate first. Then, we’ll be even more successful, I’m willing to bet on that.

AP: So far you have described the things you see as problems in detail. However, I've heard people describing the problems we have several times in the past, what I haven't heard are some solid solutions that will fix one thing without destroying something else. So what solutions do you suggest? Should the KOA ditch the Rankings, burn the statistics, change most of the rules and pretend they were never there? Or do you think the situation is irreversible and that we have screwed up things so severely that the whole thing will never be the same again?

BV: First off let me just say that, in my opinion, few things in life are irreversible and where’s there’s will there’s hope still. However, there’s also no such thing as a free lunch and in our case, fixing something will definitely have impacts. No changes ever came without cost, however big or small and the question we need to answer is: are we prepared to take the cost, are we prepared to accept change of what we’ve been used to, in order to get in a long term situation that will be more fair, more proper to the game and the community itself? After all, the goal here is not the long term competition but the fun of gaming itself. So, to the hard bit, the possible solutions themselves. I disagree that there haven’t been solutions, time and again I’ve seen good proposals being shouted down as ‘unreasonable’, when in fact their only crime was that they challenged the ‘status quo’. Anyway, my view of possible solutions. First of all I would ditch the ranking system because in my view it has nothing to offer. By now we know how most players are classified as ‘stronger’ and ‘weaker’ and we don’t need a table to tell us. For players we don’t know, the ranking system fails anyhow, best examples being the cases of Spyros and Panayotis. If another player of their calibre came out now, according to the ranking system he would be bottom, but put him low in a seeding group and you’ve immediately got a situation. In my view, there’s no substitute than personal opinion on fixing the seedings and we don’t need everlasting classifiers of players’ ability like the ranking system. It’s unfair to the work put on it, but if it was my call I’d throw it away. Pretend it was never there? What difference does it make anyway? I say remember and learn. The stats analyser itself is no harm, certainly people who are keen on statistics will be keeping their own records so the program itself could help the keen ones to update at will. I would say that results of mini-gatherings could be posted if everyone taking part is in agreement. The level of detail can vary from nothing, to simply naming a ‘winner’, just a league table, or full scores. What in my view is important while making the decision is respecting the feelings of everyone instead of going with a ‘majority decision’. The results we should definitely be keeping are those of more ‘official’ (I hate the word but can’t find a better one) gatherings like a World Cup or Country Champs. ‘Standard’ rules should only have the basic nucleus of what is needed in a game but should in no way be restrictive and apply as ‘de facto’ in every gathering which can tailor itself to the needs of the participants. There’s no greater disappointment than being a new member, taking the effort of going to a gathering and hearing ‘by the way, you can’t change player because the rules God has burnt on our sacred stones say so’. Everything that is provided in the game disk should be used at will. There are 2 types of changes: non-opponent affecting (e.g. lineup change, tactics) and opponent-affecting (e.g. pitch, wind, version). The first should be accepted with no questions asked – period. For the second, the 50-50 rule should apply. I don’t see why we are happy to use it for the versions but not for e.g. wind. Is it because the versions threatened to split the KOA but other stuff (so far) haven’t? Does that justify it? For what is not provided with the game. The situation is more tricky and I would say we need to discuss more but I see there is leeway of introducing things in. We have the means to create a ‘KOA disk of PM teams’ and distribute to willing members as we have done with copies of the game. People can then experiment and select what they like. I’m still not 100% convinced about PM tactics. The reason is that those can go to an extreme that in my view limits the game. It’s one thing pushing a striker a bit forward but a completely different having players sitting on the goal line like soldiers, or never moving from a spot in the wings etc. Where do we see that in real football? Of course, people who want to organise tournaments with those should be free to do so, and thus everyone will take part ‘of their own free will’. But in an ‘official’ World Cup? I’m not sure yet. Take a look at our competitions and awards. We have 1st place, 2nd place, top scorer, best defence – but there is no fair play award. We only reward performance, never behaviour. Why? My proposal is to have one such award in every major competition, and to make it more solid than a ‘pat on the back’ I would say that the winners are among the top seeds for the next World Cup. One last point. There is a group of KOAers that prefer Final Whistle. So far this group had to either adapt to the ‘common path’ or contend with less ‘glamorous’ tournaments where only few of the KOAers attended. I would like to find a way to attract these people to the big tournaments, playing their own game for once. We need to discuss on how this could happen and while I have no solid ideas so far, one thought would be to run parallel competitions on the same day, by shrinking some of the KO2 time for the FW. Or maybe even use the FW in the same way Oracle and 1.4e are used. To draw a parallel, if you remember the parable of the shepherd who left the flock to go saving the single sheep, this is the route we now want to follow, if we manage to get the member who hasn’t so far participated in tournaments to make the effort and join, rather than have only the hard core regulars, then we made a step to success. There’s no magic formula really. I think that if we are open minded, happy to accept and value difference and respect the individual instead of just the bigger group, then we should have no problems in making things even better.

AP: I know for a fact that you miss spending time with the KOAers. I believe you have made your point and it's time for you to return to action. So I'm going to ask you straight: Bill Vasiliou, will you return to KOA tournaments?

BV: You couldn’t be more true, I do miss my friends so much. And I also miss the game. But am I ready to plunge myself in the situation I was before Athens? Have we matured enough, so that I can say ‘yes, things have changed’? I wish I could give you a definitive and clear answer but I have to answer that to myself first. But I will however say this and make what you will of it: As an AEK fan you will know that the purest group of our fans (the Originals) have a motto: “Original means I do not despair”. We’ve seen our captain (and a member of the Originals) Demis Nikolaidis leave the team he so loves last summer, tired of the situation it’s in. However, he said “I cannot imagine myself ending my career wearing another shirt than that of AEK's”. When the time is right, he will return, even for a game. Being an Original myself I completely understand. So I guess, the KOA may yet see the rise of the machines.

AP: Thank you for the interview Bill, it was very interesting.

BV: Thank you for inviting me and offering this opportunity to open up and offer my views and feelings. If even one KOAer finds this interesting and useful, it will be a success for my part. Congratulations for your efforts to make this magazine and wish you every success in the future. By Darren Gurney

Well, you have to go back to 1988.. when Kick Off was released to the unsuspecting gaming public. No one new then what an impact this little soccer game would on the world, well most of Europe! Little guys running really fast around a pitch, mostly you only saw the top of their head due to the fact of the overhead viewpoint.

The original Kick Off 1

Great gameplay ensued along with an add-on disk, Kick Off 2 and subsequent data add-on disks. But nestled in there, in between Kick Off and Kick Off 2 was a game, heralded by many as the greatest soccer manager game of all time! It offered everything that a budding soccer manager could ever want. A wealth of options, including actually playing alongside your team mates in a refined version of Kick Off. The main screen had everything you needed, coaching, squad screen, transfer screen etc.

The original Player Manager's club finances screen Rated highly by all the ST/Amiga magazines at the time.. it went on to keep peoples interests more than ten years later. Now.. fast forward to 2004, when hopefully we'll be able to relive these golden Player Manager days of old. Steve Screech, who worked at Anco and had a hand in all things Kick Off, has started work on a sequel. Ultimate Player Manager, as it's known at the moment. Actually you have to go back to 2003 when work commenced on this very much desired game. Kick Off 02 was already made and in the shops ( selling rather badly due to poor distribution ) but the groundwork had been laid. Seen by many as a great update to the original Kick Off, this time, for the PC. Kick Off 02 had the same frenetic gameplay, but now being in the new millennium it had a vast array of new features. Anyway, back to UPM. Steve started coding the game, using the match engine used in KO02. Building on the original design, an icon driven front end leading out to all the parts needed to manage a ( hopefully ) successful team. Entering your data Bearing in mind this is a preview… the game is at the point of choosing your manager, picking a team and actually playing in the match. With nearly a hundred beta testers now, all gleaned from the Kick Off Gathering website Http://www.ko- gathering.com the game is steadily progressing with help, input and a lot of data collating from the beta testers.

The league table As the game is built on the original, all of the functions are / will be in place along with all the bells and whistles you would come to expect with a soccer manager game today! Starting off we can choose which type of game we want. Choices are : Youth player Playing for your living, earning transfers and contracts with your performances on the field. If offered you can take up management and continue till you're 64. Player Manager You start life as a player manager, aged 28. You control this player only till he retires ( no time limit ) Manager You don`t play on the field in this game, just manage and watch your team ( no time limit ) Team This is similar to the `Player Manager` game but you play as the entire time ( like KO2002 ) not an individual. You do not have a player manager to play but you control the team you manage. ( no time limit ) Essentially this is KO2002 with management. There will be three squads to your club ( 1st, reserve and youth ) and also fifteen countries will be catered for. All of these will have full divisions, cups etc.. Add to this full, international qualifiers and finals for the world and European championships. Scouts, training, tactics, physios, financial control, fan power. In all a total of around 50,000 unique players playing in real time. You will have the ability to change your Player Manager name, club, nationality, hair and skin colour before the Player Manager world is created. Even the option of having real player data/team names or made up players. Again, just like the original all the players in the world environment have a set of attributes. Now these define the players abilities, whether it be a keeper, midfielder, winger or forward. These will include passing, tackling, keeping, shooting, ability, deadball etc. All these attributes are out of 100, so you must pick and choose your players wisely to maximise their potential on the field. Likewise in the transfer market, you need to look at the players carefully, looking for trade offs with each of the players. Here's hoping that Steve and the very enthusiastic beta testing team can make this a game to savour and play for a very very long time. Unfortunately at the present time, progress has halted due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, but me and the rest of the UPM beta test team are ready to pick up the reigns as and when Steve comes back to the game. Thanks go to HOL http://hol.abime.net/ Also to the other beta testers that have got the game this far! Shirt Name Position Pace Stamina Shooting Passing Defending Resilience Agility Agression Flair Keeping Height Weight Age Morale 1 S.M.Fisher KEEPER 149 198 95 135 123 139 195 182 22 181 182 86 26 226 2 A.Lindsey DEFENDER 197 193 62 127 156 190 121 176 13 76 185 91 26 35 3 R.Curtis DEFENDER 172 162 87 147 172 183 159 185 32 64 179 78 26 5 4 S.D.R.Wells MIDFIELD 200 185 110 182 119 200 200 169 0 114 182 73 21 88 5 R.Cox DEFENDER 179 175 127 148 191 190 186 156 41 73 181 83 30 85 6 R.Simpson DEFENDER 154 198 50 145 179 190 199 199 18 110 183 82 22 84 7 M.M.Barrett MIDFIELD 196 186 87 169 132 159 170 34 2 98 178 82 25 26 8 R.A.Scott MIDFIELD 200 198 65 176 136 178 199 185 0 108 177 68 23 79 9 G.Nicholls FORWARD 193 146 189 169 138 188 188 112 9 97 178 87 25 88 10 R.Barber FORWARD 197 173 189 162 125 192 200 189 25 94 169 69 23 88 11 E.Curtis FORWARD 200 200 135 116 100 192 158 70 19 69 165 74 22 88 12 M.I.Barker FORWARD 199 142 169 161 119 139 190 72 22 99 169 67 21 231 14 R.A.Hunt FORWARD 192 200 144 170 93 140 171 100 14 73 185 84 20 231 0 B.S.Clark DEFENDER 150 169 95 149 171 161 200 123 0 91 172 72 19 45 0 J.Steel DEFENDER 160 177 152 137 188 177 197 129 13 101 174 70 28 21 0 R.Mason DEFENDER 197 160 78 155 170 191 162 146 15 84 177 73 23 226 0 F.L.J.Bloomfield FORWARD 156 172 171 143 117 200 195 34 5 101 170 65 20 226 0 A.Andrews KEEPER 182 156 79 95 87 190 154 101 0 151 163 61 20 200 0 M.Hopkins KEEPER 200 184 36 122 120 195 143 143 1 143 181 80 19 35 0 F.Ferguson MIDFIELD 191 196 108 181 124 200 174 111 53 98 183 78 24 241 0 H.Underwood MIDFIELD 200 196 109 139 122 174 150 101 0 82 184 90 23 225 0 J.H.Robinson MIDFIELD 134 200 153 168 120 200 176 75 13 103 187 87 22 231

Shirt Name Position Pace Stamina Shooting Passing Defending Resilience Agility Agression Flair Keeping Height Weight Age Morale 1 W.S.Edwards KEEPER 114 163 105 142 103 200 159 80 7 161 192 80 22 68 2 H.H.Day DEFENDER 180 98 103 107 177 192 156 103 38 102 179 70 26 38 3 L.A.Martyn DEFENDER 108 131 55 76 176 179 180 64 20 119 184 71 25 217 4 J.Walsh MIDFIELD 195 142 73 153 124 191 178 57 7 111 176 68 20 255 5 B.Reynolds DEFENDER 158 173 49 124 177 192 107 185 8 36 187 76 29 74 6 J.Steel DEFENDER 112 198 77 113 145 190 140 178 8 99 183 73 21 74 7 R.Shaw MIDFIELD 200 193 121 169 147 82 187 127 16 74 164 67 18 75 8 L.R.Lindsey MIDFIELD 195 160 117 183 148 113 169 83 74 93 178 73 25 73 9 A.Nicholls FORWARD 200 168 161 127 118 120 142 188 29 104 175 79 24 88 10 W.Quinn FORWARD 198 135 151 132 91 198 132 154 45 83 182 90 26 81 11 D.E.Barker FORWARD 137 186 189 178 114 95 194 169 3 92 166 63 28 29 12 M.Phillips FORWARD 193 111 150 141 122 142 150 102 21 82 183 91 24 206 14 R.Taylor FORWARD 131 175 158 151 114 174 125 0 5 78 178 88 31 235 0 M.G.Gray DEFENDER 122 200 80 105 164 138 169 0 22 94 165 69 21 1 0 R.D.Hammond DEFENDER 195 137 131 156 185 196 165 140 6 24 176 77 27 196 0 A.Macdonald DEFENDER 139 79 87 159 187 195 178 132 17 73 174 71 28 55 0 C.Carter FORWARD 128 193 147 115 102 167 128 184 0 73 153 53 27 207 0 D.G.Barnes KEEPER 144 104 121 76 124 200 166 63 24 159 174 67 22 190 0 J.Jackson KEEPER 192 63 72 156 135 160 199 97 30 154 170 69 24 197 0 A.Allen MIDFIELD 187 95 121 170 162 158 187 139 19 102 165 64 21 49 0 E.Collins MIDFIELD 170 163 98 127 105 187 107 155 0 89 185 76 21 207 0 S.Armstrong MIDFIELD 187 158 98 184 109 78 178 144 12 101 178 78 25 226 0 R.Curtis MIDFIELD 180 162 108 144 75 153 107 196 1 46 178 87 28 199 Shirt Name Position Pace Stamina Shooting Passing Defending Resilience Agility Agression Flair Keeping Height Weight Age Morale 1 R.Steel KEEPER 138 166 52 124 55 190 119 136 0 118 183 88 21 69 2 J.Parker DEFENDER 141 139 85 106 145 138 111 136 10 87 167 69 26 88 3 J.Fisher DEFENDER 75 193 152 130 162 106 168 55 30 115 190 94 25 88 4 B.Barker MIDFIELD 153 162 117 151 104 163 138 26 10 48 180 85 21 88 5 C.Bloomfield DEFENDER 127 130 133 170 174 139 181 90 24 140 173 60 23 37 6 J.Page DEFENDER 172 110 99 120 125 156 136 88 34 86 177 77 19 88 7 D.J.Payne MIDFIELD 128 168 129 157 134 130 100 91 25 94 164 68 31 45 8 L.Cole MIDFIELD 189 184 40 96 86 195 90 82 7 62 177 78 25 63 9 R.Carter FORWARD 113 128 171 143 137 122 157 109 25 99 167 59 30 88 10 L.Elliott FORWARD 138 129 155 146 107 155 132 49 0 90 169 75 29 88 11 G.Nicholls FORWARD 172 118 155 123 104 159 81 120 0 77 172 80 32 65 12 R.Aldridge FORWARD 135 113 178 140 115 110 133 82 26 116 164 67 31 245 14 R.Rogers FORWARD 121 117 168 151 153 114 132 101 18 100 165 64 31 206 0 M.Quinn DEFENDER 94 171 85 112 153 124 123 136 45 49 185 88 27 29 0 F.Quinn DEFENDER 99 168 74 115 164 141 75 100 42 88 177 81 34 236 0 I.Wright FORWARD 181 184 136 125 78 94 117 84 26 37 169 65 25 45 0 J.Dawson KEEPER 101 99 68 177 135 103 168 171 27 187 174 54 34 29 0 G.Hall MIDFIELD 199 177 118 168 124 83 159 76 9 81 169 57 23 13 0 E.Douglas MIDFIELD 154 191 51 70 73 165 70 52 11 26 171 59 29 3 0 J.Clements MIDFIELD 146 121 140 171 147 108 147 80 98 109 167 67 30 248

Shirt Name Position Pace Stamina Shooting Passing Defending Resilience Agility Agression Flair Keeping Height Weight Age Morale 1 G.Page KEEPER 138 134 49 77 68 155 98 120 31 116 163 60 22 67 2 T.M.Dixon DEFENDER 136 93 125 129 164 145 105 139 6 106 186 89 28 88 3 G.R.Martyn DEFENDER 115 89 132 169 171 90 132 60 2 111 186 84 31 63 4 R.Small MIDFIELD 150 190 66 132 76 117 115 94 3 29 177 77 19 52 5 J.Collins DEFENDER 175 116 96 96 134 169 148 30 12 112 172 57 23 206 6 J.Murray DEFENDER 124 159 114 150 157 170 96 65 3 135 185 81 27 193 7 D.Sawer MIDFIELD 126 128 76 157 121 127 126 91 18 58 184 94 24 40 8 H.Ferguson MIDFIELD 193 127 71 142 102 99 127 127 34 85 169 67 22 33 9 F.Curtis FORWARD 104 113 181 143 87 165 116 189 49 60 162 60 34 81 10 R.J.Downs FORWARD 177 59 170 171 116 109 183 82 7 118 181 72 21 82 11 F.Wright FORWARD 126 97 165 166 114 131 127 62 46 126 183 87 28 56 12 J.Chamberlain FORWARD 132 92 178 150 123 85 101 62 17 125 171 72 37 176 14 H.Baker FORWARD 127 145 126 135 102 139 70 183 47 83 189 99 29 186 0 B.Thompson DEFENDER 111 49 146 172 187 162 117 139 73 159 184 83 33 245 0 M.Day DEFENDER 53 129 128 149 180 158 98 114 30 100 173 82 35 175 0 B.Bond DEFENDER 56 150 123 178 194 114 162 120 39 116 166 60 36 33 0 D.Downs FORWARD 186 59 188 144 114 155 200 111 49 131 167 68 21 156 0 D.Lawrence KEEPER 138 41 94 181 155 123 169 123 0 194 166 68 35 1 0 G.James MIDFIELD 135 194 113 164 134 115 94 100 0 98 175 77 27 169 0 C.Reynolds MIDFIELD 99 144 140 166 148 140 83 60 30 158 163 50 34 30 Shirt Name Position Pace Stamina Shooting Passing Defending Resilience Agility Agression Flair Keeping Height Weight Age Morale 1 J.Dyer KEEPER 90 137 75 134 124 91 174 139 6 164 177 71 19 17 2 S.Bishop DEFENDER 95 117 168 178 185 120 112 200 20 168 181 80 35 79 3 N.Johnson DEFENDER 52 139 149 147 172 131 83 82 0 101 187 89 35 56 4 O.T.S.Thompson MIDFIELD 200 153 56 93 59 161 80 77 0 61 183 79 21 14 5 B.Williams DEFENDER 142 70 129 152 152 200 144 185 4 126 174 66 24 250 6 G.Morris DEFENDER 84 162 81 120 140 161 103 51 0 65 172 66 22 17 7 C.R.Bright FORWARD 178 97 136 115 86 186 84 80 29 70 170 65 26 221 8 M.Wells MIDFIELD 182 151 106 137 125 114 89 99 0 109 182 70 29 5 9 S.Hill FORWARD 124 122 171 168 108 89 196 106 18 104 153 45 19 12 10 D.D.Collins FORWARD 198 124 120 110 95 150 96 58 11 71 179 70 22 7 11 R.Hart FORWARD 143 82 171 153 115 156 78 46 135 119 167 54 40 15 12 J.Chapman FORWARD 167 106 141 138 122 90 71 126 6 108 188 87 31 180 14 D.Miller MIDFIELD 103 109 134 177 152 103 100 51 31 107 161 67 34 184 0 N.Bell DEFENDER 181 147 87 92 142 197 72 75 39 94 172 79 26 156 0 R.Long KEEPER 167 84 89 80 79 141 96 105 11 129 177 81 28 7 0 I.Miller MIDFIELD 187 158 81 134 136 107 78 77 3 89 185 91 28 206 0 R.Moore MIDFIELD 112 135 139 170 184 65 135 36 35 162 177 74 31 193

Shirt Name Position Pace Stamina Shooting Passing Defending Resilience Agility Agression Flair Keeping Height Weight Age Morale 1 C.T.Sawer KEEPER 150 191 120 133 135 144 170 125 9 172 163 52 23 41 2 R.Alexander DEFENDER 153 121 90 110 166 185 126 166 57 63 181 87 28 68 3 L.Morrison DEFENDER 110 141 130 158 181 128 194 87 33 138 181 83 24 240 4 S.Baker MIDFIELD 146 166 138 189 135 149 198 43 0 86 173 72 27 38 5 G.N.Clarke DEFENDER 146 147 78 120 161 191 177 97 28 99 173 63 22 45 6 J.Cooper DEFENDER 119 150 136 160 159 166 200 152 1 95 190 92 19 42 7 D.Payne MIDFIELD 101 197 169 180 149 131 193 138 0 110 191 93 26 49 8 H.Archer MIDFIELD 181 174 82 143 153 125 164 141 20 103 176 71 20 25 9 F.T.B.Sinclair FORWARD 143 171 178 158 148 166 155 94 16 59 177 73 26 28 10 I.Edwards FORWARD 195 145 180 152 166 132 195 179 8 134 177 77 25 54 11 H.Lindsey FORWARD 191 125 160 159 86 188 141 55 0 89 182 80 24 30 12 H.A.Elliott FORWARD 174 180 141 122 59 142 102 40 67 60 182 79 29 221 14 G.Collins KEEPER 121 163 83 121 68 172 145 148 35 152 191 97 24 201 0 S.Aldridge DEFENDER 75 167 108 134 162 199 169 63 19 74 177 63 23 233 0 G.O.Coleman DEFENDER 122 156 91 155 190 173 193 36 33 37 180 86 27 245 0 N.J.Sharp FORWARD 191 169 180 166 142 165 181 32 29 75 176 65 23 227 0 D.Davis MIDFIELD 200 177 89 113 77 175 92 114 83 62 166 64 24 206 0 N.Cole MIDFIELD 141 174 116 170 116 152 138 177 0 87 165 60 25 227 0 L.Thomas MIDFIELD 175 103 99 179 136 163 142 102 50 92 178 79 29 181 0 J.Bell MIDFIELD 138 170 138 182 123 139 141 18 0 66 178 66 31 195 Shirt Name Position Pace Stamina Shooting Passing Defending Resilience Agility Agression Flair Keeping Height Weight Age Morale 1 G.G.Webb KEEPER 170 151 62 134 76 164 148 200 41 175 156 55 31 54 2 N.King DEFENDER 119 154 77 159 176 157 194 80 15 134 173 70 22 88 3 R.Mason DEFENDER 154 109 85 161 162 200 166 148 55 86 194 79 26 88 4 R.Sawer MIDFIELD 180 191 73 159 89 163 125 38 13 91 175 78 27 83 5 N.Hudson DEFENDER 200 144 117 124 145 200 148 63 1 84 169 62 22 31 6 D.Wood DEFENDER 102 200 58 146 147 180 172 116 10 86 176 78 19 88 7 S.Nicholls MIDFIELD 192 147 103 173 109 160 133 144 6 80 184 72 27 88 8 M.Thomas MIDFIELD 200 164 138 168 141 137 129 62 32 81 174 62 30 23 9 A.Day FORWARD 161 123 181 159 133 135 195 109 0 88 165 55 25 88 10 J.Downs FORWARD 154 140 159 184 134 156 188 57 0 54 171 59 18 71 11 H.Carter FORWARD 148 168 126 149 105 191 137 146 0 79 167 67 22 213 12 A.Webster FORWARD 190 148 126 132 98 157 139 61 29 63 168 71 27 207 14 R.Wilkins FORWARD 152 156 158 158 103 135 144 117 23 65 180 75 30 214 0 B.Dyer DEFENDER 139 127 83 118 149 186 161 133 20 104 190 83 22 41 0 R.Hart DEFENDER 128 150 104 106 177 164 143 72 11 86 161 54 26 198 0 O.Hopkins KEEPER 152 143 86 143 133 132 148 186 57 166 165 64 27 1 0 J.R.Phillips MIDFIELD 166 195 65 110 56 194 101 82 7 56 152 48 21 222 0 N.S.Watson MIDFIELD 187 186 122 169 142 130 196 82 18 92 162 54 25 60 0 J.I.Collins MIDFIELD 165 163 51 143 59 177 137 100 26 67 179 76 26 206 0 D.Mills MIDFIELD 176 134 118 139 120 146 132 94 17 119 192 92 26 207

Shirt Name Position Pace Stamina Shooting Passing Defending Resilience Agility Agression Flair Keeping Height Weight Age Morale 1 F.W.R.Clarke KEEPER 163 182 91 80 66 169 138 128 1 142 188 89 21 54 2 J.King DEFENDER 76 176 124 164 193 141 179 67 19 109 176 69 32 44 3 E.Brookes DEFENDER 96 130 119 167 183 181 149 158 0 116 178 68 30 222 4 R.Kemp MIDFIELD 132 190 137 177 120 200 159 95 73 39 168 73 29 49 5 R.Cross DEFENDER 196 194 111 99 161 185 143 30 19 53 189 94 26 50 6 H.Price DEFENDER 162 125 72 129 128 200 157 70 0 132 181 84 21 28 7 R.Richards FORWARD 180 119 183 128 120 169 149 107 39 42 171 59 26 6 8 D.Goddard MIDFIELD 200 194 82 154 37 200 108 79 2 72 193 95 21 56 9 L.F.D.Gray FORWARD 199 179 133 136 95 148 128 121 18 43 164 45 23 31 10 M.Thomas FORWARD 193 155 164 136 132 130 164 139 5 81 179 74 20 70 11 R.Gilbert FORWARD 189 189 127 146 109 163 106 69 26 77 181 78 29 0 12 M.L.Martin FORWARD 187 139 121 158 89 190 111 91 17 37 173 78 30 233 14 J.M.Austin MIDFIELD 145 157 142 160 140 166 129 97 29 60 174 74 32 210 0 G.Allen DEFENDER 148 200 98 107 148 172 147 59 9 107 187 86 20 22 0 R.Jordan DEFENDER 126 138 103 115 179 156 182 141 5 66 168 66 21 70 0 C.T.Collins KEEPER 128 187 110 106 64 147 142 168 37 129 178 62 22 181 0 A.Nixon KEEPER 107 150 102 131 98 191 140 155 0 166 172 73 25 204 0 J.Langley KEEPER 149 144 123 120 136 120 172 71 39 187 181 70 34 186 0 A.Nixon MIDFIELD 189 187 88 111 82 170 99 83 7 44 176 61 23 188 0 E.Robinson MIDFIELD 155 180 98 127 135 140 125 48 0 57 167 64 23 204 0 O.Anderson MIDFIELD 124 180 75 176 130 159 153 89 16 67 163 56 28 7 0 C.Lawrence MIDFIELD 111 134 167 176 153 166 144 109 31 113 170 76 31 159 Shirt Name Position Pace Stamina Shooting Passing Defending Resilience Agility Agression Flair Keeping Height Weight Age Morale 1 H.S.Wright KEEPER 149 178 86 102 95 145 107 93 3 161 179 79 31 85 2 J.Little DEFENDER 148 122 43 124 150 197 143 106 12 81 180 76 23 73 3 C.Pearson DEFENDER 146 87 84 113 179 183 197 154 15 66 182 83 21 73 4 A.Ellis MIDFIELD 154 198 129 171 141 164 158 130 3 108 181 81 26 248 5 J.D.McDermott DEFENDER 157 91 139 156 173 180 173 31 7 104 166 61 27 212 6 R.Cross DEFENDER 114 179 83 103 167 193 127 50 8 81 182 89 26 45 7 J.Reid MIDFIELD 197 195 97 113 49 180 107 151 68 18 172 65 24 37 8 F.Palmer MIDFIELD 187 193 121 150 71 177 127 118 52 56 179 79 23 38 9 G.Harris FORWARD 141 119 178 183 156 161 181 66 62 83 172 67 31 68 10 H.Carter FORWARD 188 151 134 124 87 157 147 161 32 67 175 78 22 82 11 A.Coleman FORWARD 177 143 150 157 166 116 185 85 23 120 173 72 25 208 12 I.Chamberlain FORWARD 196 134 135 177 93 143 143 162 0 34 173 75 24 185 14 M.J.Russell FORWARD 197 104 175 144 118 146 139 88 20 81 182 80 26 191 0 R.Jordan DEFENDER 142 129 97 96 152 200 136 107 0 65 180 73 20 197 0 C.Adams DEFENDER 147 196 41 90 156 174 140 193 0 71 171 64 23 45 0 A.Dyer DEFENDER 140 150 101 115 166 148 138 135 36 91 178 70 27 186 0 C.Lawrence DEFENDER 128 119 90 153 180 176 126 65 3 92 173 67 31 181 0 T.Gould KEEPER 159 118 75 179 133 115 179 66 1 186 182 91 32 218 0 T.J.Longhurst MIDFIELD 168 200 132 130 124 117 149 116 22 106 174 61 22 176 0 A.A.Ellis MIDFIELD 184 141 94 108 119 190 110 13 2 109 170 63 24 204 0 R.Gregory MIDFIELD 159 171 126 147 104 193 107 70 0 74 182 73 26 177 0 A.Gibson MIDFIELD 103 187 92 169 126 150 158 153 47 50 162 52 26 206 0 D.Pearce MIDFIELD 141 196 121 152 132 159 145 68 6 50 185 77 26 246 0 E.D.Marshall MIDFIELD 136 142 168 183 165 155 176 123 43 109 180 77 33 254

Shirt Name Position Pace Stamina Shooting Passing Defending Resilience Agility Agression Flair Keeping Height Weight Age Morale 1 B.E.Gray KEEPER 159 191 61 65 102 192 147 110 39 139 166 70 22 35 2 G.Anderson DEFENDER 126 194 99 146 159 200 134 102 14 103 171 60 21 5 3 E.Jordan DEFENDER 198 168 65 84 149 200 96 48 46 48 189 93 21 11 4 S.Cooper MIDFIELD 195 147 136 164 143 143 185 107 11 117 183 88 19 249 5 G.D.Webster DEFENDER 151 129 161 157 181 197 190 27 7 73 179 81 29 194 6 E.Scott DEFENDER 120 140 82 157 170 200 200 123 15 50 174 77 20 38 7 G.Arnold FORWARD 178 166 163 114 133 139 157 105 32 76 182 78 26 44 8 J.Reid MIDFIELD 126 186 144 187 134 140 177 55 12 96 185 77 28 246 9 M.J.Bond FORWARD 172 148 138 139 89 191 145 31 24 62 184 78 23 56 10 H.Hughes FORWARD 136 196 156 172 96 175 138 87 10 100 175 87 28 35 11 M.A.Steel FORWARD 180 112 150 153 106 190 152 127 27 33 175 67 26 13 12 D.Owens FORWARD 194 125 167 145 102 162 126 6 12 56 182 86 25 164 14 R.Mitchell MIDFIELD 160 200 100 155 141 127 144 23 0 74 189 86 22 179 0 J.Foster DEFENDER 190 132 76 105 144 196 112 116 28 70 184 83 21 219 0 C.D.King DEFENDER 200 83 117 139 160 186 170 86 33 134 179 85 25 10 0 M.Baker DEFENDER 115 150 131 146 157 184 141 106 25 73 187 93 29 192 0 D.Addison DEFENDER 134 149 65 126 169 177 101 110 24 88 180 85 30 169 0 H.Addison FORWARD 164 158 167 156 140 146 195 10 36 103 187 92 23 219 0 A.Evans KEEPER 136 143 92 129 142 158 177 29 20 149 171 62 23 173 0 M.Page KEEPER 134 146 133 126 120 193 183 38 97 169 170 70 25 169 0 D.Moore MIDFIELD 168 159 118 138 134 156 136 152 1 96 180 81 20 179 0 A.J.Richardson MIDFIELD 134 169 102 151 133 140 149 48 29 96 183 91 22 164 0 G.J.Dickens MIDFIELD 191 184 127 172 118 149 181 106 8 104 181 80 26 218 0 M.D.Archer MIDFIELD 145 155 148 180 155 115 157 57 3 122 190 86 29 196 Shirt Name Position Pace Stamina Shooting Passing Defending Resilience Agility Agression Flair Keeping Height Weight Age Morale 1 S.Collins KEEPER 145 132 74 152 101 142 166 67 65 177 174 74 26 76 2 M.Downs DEFENDER 195 175 55 81 133 190 124 166 0 34 170 68 24 56 3 C.L.Miller DEFENDER 74 192 126 148 178 199 200 182 20 92 175 71 21 55 4 E.Kemp MIDFIELD 177 200 122 167 146 112 189 86 0 91 171 66 18 46 5 S.Johnson DEFENDER 160 200 80 130 149 184 128 118 45 83 186 79 25 56 6 A.Saunders DEFENDER 124 200 131 135 150 166 172 176 2 79 192 88 26 6 7 C.Payne MIDFIELD 186 135 134 172 132 137 175 143 0 76 170 73 26 62 8 R.Parker MIDFIELD 193 160 98 122 120 200 119 59 10 9 171 65 23 29 9 M.Goddard FORWARD 184 124 151 152 99 138 124 69 19 99 174 75 27 71 10 R.Gregory FORWARD 200 156 141 112 106 168 119 129 0 53 178 73 25 241 11 A.S.Bishop MIDFIELD 177 172 106 138 103 124 180 126 0 80 186 72 18 253 12 A.R.Davis FORWARD 111 129 178 147 101 144 120 125 5 63 186 69 34 206 14 C.Watson FORWARD 179 77 165 155 107 148 127 73 0 70 168 64 29 206 0 J.Griffiths DEFENDER 119 151 82 126 144 187 165 100 0 78 183 86 19 164 0 D.E.Rogers DEFENDER 161 156 114 144 163 159 142 64 3 92 179 85 21 199 0 N.N.Arnold DEFENDER 176 126 96 138 132 180 140 105 8 112 182 74 23 190 0 I.Barber DEFENDER 149 168 78 147 165 149 156 131 57 79 184 85 25 250 0 D.Berry FORWARD 166 119 139 111 110 133 160 117 12 85 186 85 24 21 0 W.Fisher FORWARD 112 160 170 169 115 154 197 86 19 98 175 73 26 10 0 R.Aldridge KEEPER 141 141 82 126 84 159 152 96 3 156 177 63 22 167 0 B.Pearce MIDFIELD 168 150 123 157 148 125 156 86 0 53 171 65 22 199 0 D.Cox MIDFIELD 135 171 141 143 144 148 153 0 14 68 170 67 29 218

Shirt Name Position Pace Stamina Shooting Passing Defending Resilience Agility Agression Flair Keeping Height Weight Age Morale 1 J.Richardson KEEPER 197 176 101 146 90 112 199 102 13 155 160 51 21 52 2 A.Kelly DEFENDER 130 147 143 173 175 157 200 127 13 121 167 60 21 4 3 W.Webster DEFENDER 131 144 83 142 161 196 158 115 9 75 165 59 21 58 4 J.J.Chamberlain DEFENDER 180 147 96 121 179 146 168 104 16 87 174 72 24 0 5 A.Randall DEFENDER 168 200 104 106 180 180 200 81 0 81 177 72 21 243 6 D.Curtis DEFENDER 154 188 55 120 140 200 136 188 8 68 172 62 20 65 7 N.Edwards MIDFIELD 170 192 83 141 131 143 134 54 33 70 172 70 23 39 8 C.C.I.Watson MIDFIELD 171 156 133 143 149 180 153 97 14 86 162 61 22 28 9 S.Law FORWARD 101 164 173 187 120 163 199 115 35 81 176 78 22 211 10 G.M.Little FORWARD 153 141 163 126 120 190 166 109 33 95 167 66 21 56 11 M.R.Hunt MIDFIELD 193 195 119 127 101 140 116 79 7 95 174 74 21 70 12 E.Clements FORWARD 172 155 140 140 110 150 122 118 31 71 155 46 26 221 14 D.Rowland FORWARD 178 123 135 68 101 178 147 62 21 82 176 74 23 200 0 L.Wilson DEFENDER 110 138 116 150 165 189 177 143 18 37 169 66 20 233 0 D.D.Kemp DEFENDER 124 158 85 100 169 160 167 143 10 50 181 73 23 228 0 D.J.Ferguson DEFENDER 172 136 93 126 166 145 140 163 82 109 180 83 27 190 0 S.N.Green DEFENDER 130 189 92 154 175 167 142 47 3 49 175 77 30 179 0 J.Palmer FORWARD 173 156 175 138 107 128 138 124 46 93 181 73 30 38 0 R.Thompson KEEPER 111 198 105 163 89 96 178 156 13 180 189 91 23 190 0 N.A.Griffiths KEEPER 191 162 71 137 94 139 159 86 0 169 185 74 28 179 0 D.Johnson MIDFIELD 144 152 126 167 134 126 184 88 23 128 173 63 22 228 0 W.Webster MIDFIELD 196 174 90 148 137 150 135 95 17 91 174 55 24 219 0 H.Mitchell MIDFIELD 111 179 167 187 158 101 195 149 0 108 186 90 28 184 Some interesting points:

Team A&B players are identical. The obvious Team A advantage cannot be explained by the players' stats. Team A Division 1 & England are also identical. There are 257 unique players in Kick Off 2. The only players that play for more than one team are those who play for Division 1 and the national team of England. E.Curtis (#11 of the International Team A team) is the only player in the game who has 200 points in both Pace and Stamina. N.Johnson is the slowest player in the game (he plays for the Division 4 Team A team), with 52 points, while D.Lawrence, Division 3 Team A's sub keeper, should quit smoking (41 stamina points). The best shooters are R.Barber, G.Nicholls (Numbers 10 & 9 of the International Team A team) and D.E.Barker from England, all with 189 points. L.Cole, Division 2 Team A's #8, couldn't hit an elephant with the ball (40 points). S.Baker, France's #4, has the best passing in the game (189 points). Although B.Bond, the French substitute, and J.King, Holland's # 2, have the best defending stat with 194 and 193 points, they're too slow to be considered best defenders. Therefore, the title goes to R.Cox (#5 of the International Team A team) who has 191 points and scores highly in pretty much every stat that matters for defense. D.Goddard on the other hand, Holland's #8, doesn't like defense that much (37 points). G.G.Webb (Germany's starting keeper) and S.Bishop (#2 of the Division 4 Team A team) have 200 Aggression points. R.Hart, #11 of the Division 4 Team A team, is the only player with more than 100 Flair points (135). D.Lawrence, substitute keeper of the Division 3 Team A team, has 194 keeping points. However, his stamina is too low. J.Langley on the other hand, the Dutch substitute keeper, has 187 and the rest of his stats are fairly good. He is probably the best goalkeeper in the game, yet he isn't starting! S.Bishop, #2 of the Division 4 Team A team, could have a career as a goalkeeper as he has 168 keeping points, more than most keepers in the game! R.Parker, Spain's #8, has only 9 keeping points. The worst goalkeeper in the game is Division 3 Team A's starting goalkeeper, G.Page, with only 116 points. R.Mason, Germany's #3, is the tallest player in the game. He stands 194 cms (6' 4''). The shortest is his teammate J.R.Phillips, who stands 152 cms (5' 0''). H.Baker, #14 of the Division 3 Team A team is the heaviest player in the game (99 kilos). The lightest are L.F.D.Gray, Holland's #9, and S.Hill, Division 4 Team A's #9, both 45 kilos. R.Hart, #11 of Division 4 Team A's team, is 40 years old! The most confident player in the game is England's #4, J.Walsh, with 255 Morale points. The suicidal ones are Holland's #11, R.Gilbert, and Sweden's #4, J.J.Chamberlain, with 0 points. Who is the best player in the game? Hard to say. Just like in real life, in Kick Off 2 nobody is excellent in every stat. My vote goes to R.Barber, #10 of the International Team A team. The worst player is probably G.Morris, #6 of Division 4 Team A team. By Alkis Polyrakis

February 2001. Hundreds of Kick Off players are scattered around the globe, unaware of each other, all thinking they are the only ones left. Four people in Angeren, Holland, eager to discover more opponents to play against in their area, decide to start an online club. They called it the Kick Off Association.

This is what the original site looked like Gunther Wening, Jan & Niels Tijssen and Pim Vink, searched all over the Internet for people who had sites dedicated to Kick Off and invited them to join the KOA. One of the first ones they found was Herve Foucher, a guy who was working on an online clone of Kick Off 2. As I had a small tribute to KO2 in my homepage, I discovered an e-mail by Gunther in my inbox on February 9th, 2001:

Hello Alkis, Visit the new Kick off 2 site at www.kickoff2.cjb.net Kick off 2 rules

Progress was slow in the beginning. The Dutch boys then decided to contact Anco and look for Dino Dini. They were told that Dino was no longer employed there, however Steve Screech was more than eager to become a member. He joined the forum and he was kind enough to answer all of our questions. It wasn't Gunther Wening (Holland): Dear friends, the KOA was founded because we wanted to find some Kick Off players in our region. Ironically, we found Kick Off players all around the globe, but not one of them that lived close to us. A better thing happened and now we have friends all over Europe. long before he made a historic suggestion: He wanted to create a new Kick Off game for the PC, based on the old ones, and he was asking for our contribution! Good news travel fast and before we knew it, more and more Kick Off lovers were joining the KOA. This is how it all began. February – April 2001: The KOA is born. The main discussions at first are focused on Herve Foucher's project, Open Kick Off. Steve Screech joins the association and starts talking about a new Kick Off game. We give the project the temporary name “Kick Off 3” and everyone posts their suggestions on what it should be about. Steve uses the Player Manager 2000 engine (used in a completely different way) and on March 21st, he starts a thread that became an obsession for us in the months that followed: The Progress Report. Two days later he gives us the first screenshot:

The very first screenshot Steve Screech (England): Wishing the KOA a very happy 3rd birthday. The KOA has had to endure turbulent times in the past but this last year has seen it grow in strength and also maturity. Long live the KOA and all who play within her. To our surprise, Steve is open to suggestions and he implements almost everything we ask for in the game. Everyone wants to become a beta tester and asks to be included in it as a player. When Steve expresses his concern on the lack of good digital 8-way joysticks on the PC, I send him a CMS stick and he instantly falls in love with it. A vote is held on the game's title and “Ultimate Kick Off” wins over the second favorite “Kick Off: Resurrection”. On April 15th, Steve sends CDs to the beta testers! Only 8 teams were included in that first beta, the graphics were basic and all you could do was play a 2 player game, but it was a start and all those who got that first version will never forget it. Steve soon uploads beta version 1.05 and already we can see an improvement. Some members that joined the KOA during that period: Gunther Wening, Jan Tijssen, Niels Tijssen, Pim Vink, Steve Screech, Anthony Kyne, Alkis Polyrakis, Darren Gurney, Mark Williams, Filippo Della Bianca, Geert Poels, Michael Richards, Apostolos Terlis, Ged Cummings, Mark Elliott. May – July 2001: The KOAers are now working 24/7 on UKO and they start making teams. I make and distribute an editor on Microsoft Access that makes it easier to create a squad and export it to the appropriate text format. Coner Drebin gives Steve some

The UKO team editor tunes he can use in the game. On the 4th of July, a small lucky percentage of the beta testers are able to witness the game's AI and play against the computer for the Dino Dini (England): My sincerest good wishes to the KOA on their 3rd Birthday. first time. Dino Dini joins the KOA; he is greeted by Darren Gurney and Mark Elliott who ask for some proof on his identity, so he makes a small video for them. He soon gives answers to some of our oldest questions. People start talking about the possibility of a Kick Off 2 world cup in England. The idea is welcomed with enthusiasm and members start applying for it.

A historic moment

Some members that joined the KOA during that period: Gianluca Troiano, Jacob Kofoed, Klaus Lederer, Helmut Haussman, Antonis Trikas, Mark Poelstra, Riemer Poelstra, Danny Dinneen. August – October 2001: As more and more players announce that they will join the world cup, the KOA moves to its own server ko-gathering.com. Steve finds a publisher for Ultimate Kick Off but cannot announce who it is yet. Acclaim (the publisher) decides to change the title to Kick Off 2002. Darren Gurney tells us that he plays Kick Off 2 with keys instead of a joystick, and we are all astonished when he posts a picture of a prototype he used on the Amiga called a Joyboard. Some members that joined the KOA during that period: Martin Beard, James Beard, Steve Camber, Vasilis Kafiris, George Koumoutsos, Bjarte, Nazim Choudhury, Franco Chiandotto, Mark Holiday, Robert Swift, James Lockerbie. Gianluca Troiano (Italy): When i joined the KOA i didn't realize how it could change my life. Now it's a online gathering of my friends. I wish that this fantastic community will live forever! See you in the next WC.

The infamous joyboard November 2001 – January 2002: The very first KOA Kick Off 2 tournament is the world cup in Dartford. 31 players attended and it was pure magic. We got to meet each other for the first time and visit the Anco headquarters. Alkis Polyrakis won the title by defeating Mark Poelstra 6-3 in the final. Steve gives me a demo of Kick Off 2002 which I hand to the Greek PC Master magazine. They give it a glorious preview, including the world cup news. Anco buys 500 joysticks from CMS. We upload some data disks for everyone to get from the site: A Kick Off 2 goals tutorial made by Alkis and a “steroids” disk made by Vasilis Kafiris. Kick Off 2002 hits the shelves on January and Steve is already talking about Ultimate Player Manager.

Some of the 1st World Cup's players The KOAers start organizing local Kick Off 2 tournaments, with the first ones being held in Athens and London. Alkis wins the former and Rikki Fullarton the latter. Some members that joined the KOA during that period: Bill Vasiliou, Rikki Mark Elliott (England): It only took a small article in a PC Magazine to point me in the right direction, since then I've travelled the UK and Europe not to play a 13 year old game but to meet friends old and new, this for me is what the KOA has given me, long may it spread the word that Kick Off is good but beer and mates are even better. Fullarton, Pascal Vermeulen, Glenn Loite, Klaus Loite, Gerie, Danne Johansson,Deadfrog, CJ, Tim Klifmann. February – April 2002: People are playing Kick Off 2002; they are making websites with real teams, upload replays and challenge each other by trying to perform their best in predefined tournaments. The Greek PC Master magazine gives it a 90% review. 6 Kick Off 2 tournaments are played during that period, including the first Swedish, Italian and Spanish gatherings. The most important one is the English championships with 24 participants, in which Rikki Fullarton wins the league while Bill Vasiliou tops the cup competition. Robert Swift invents the World Rankings. People discover the differences in 1.4e & Oracle KO2 versions and that leads to a heated debate that lasts three weeks before we reach a final agreement on April 26th: Team A will get to choose the version from now on.

Rikki Fullarton won the first English Championships in Gloucester Some members that joined the KOA during that period: Yo, Tomas Verver, Durbz, M1Hampton, Rodolfo Martin, Kirell, Davetoast, Jorn Flagtvedt, Alex Brante, Trevor Dutton. May – July 2002: The making of Ultimate Player Manager is underway and Steve introduces the Topics of the Week in which people post their opinions on various aspects of the game. He issues shares for people who want to beta test it to buy. Tom Black is the Rodolfo Martin (Spain): FEKO wishes KOA a happy birthday! Being a part of this great association was a dream come true that helped me find real Kick Off action, new friends and a good excuse to travel abroad once in a while. Long life to the KOA and thanks again to its father Gunther. first one who purchases three shares. Nikos Andreou contacts Kieron from the CAPS and asks him to make a correct copy of 1.4e. 19 Kick Off 2 tournaments are played including the first Norwegian one and the first Dutch ones. Mark Poelstra wins a major north & south tournament in Holland, while Andy Elliott tops a 13 players tournament in Gloucester. Some members that joined the KOA during that period: Martin Jeffrey, David Cornejo, Kieron, Nikos Andreou, Dimitris Konstantakopoulos, Luitzen Boonstra. August – October 2002: As the KOA prepares itself for the Athens world cup, agreeing on a set of rules proves to be more difficult than it was the year before, when Steve decided on them. It takes us quite a while to agree on a 2-legs final. Steve is working on UPM and gives us progress reports. 12 tournaments are played; Klaus comes first in an 8 players gathering in Kristiansand, Bill tops Gloucester III and Alkis loses a KOA tournament for the first time to Vasilis. George Koumoutsos starts conquering the next Greek tournaments, including the Mediterranean one shortly before the world cup. On October 16th, the first KOA tournament in which Final Whistle is used for some of the games is played; it's called the Peanuts tournament. Some members that joined the KOA during that period: Tomas Verver, KT, Semtex, Spyros Paraschis, Leonardo Comessino. November 2002 – January 2003: 26 players play in the 2nd world cup in Athens. Rikki Fullarton is the new world champion by losing the first final 6-4 and winning the second 6-3 against Alkis Polyrakis. After the tournament, Steve Screech proposes a rule modification: light wind to be implemented in tournaments to come. Some of the KOAers love the idea. Meanwhile, the making of Ultimate Player Manager continues and people start creating music tracks for it, while Gerie works on a box cover and some in game graphics (pitch, hair styles). The first beta is given to the testers on December 17th. Steve announces that he will work on another Kick Off game, a sequel to KO02 called Kick Off 2004. KOA discovers WinUAE Kalliera and some of the members Antonis Trikas (Greece): 3 years uh? It seems like yesterday. I wish for the moment that I will be teaching Kick Off 2 to my descendants and that Antonis Jr. will win the 2050 WC! Health and happiness to all the lads. I also wish for many more world cups to come all around the globe. Viva la KOA comrades! begin playing Kick Off 2 online.

Gerie's UPM Box Cover

The Germans are discovered for the first time and we're surprised to see that they host a 30+ players annual Kick Off 2 tournament. 10 more local tournaments are played; Riemer Poelstra manages to win his first gathering after 9 consecutive victories by his brother Mark. Martin Beard and Steve Camber get their first tournament victories as well. A very tough international tournament called Helland is hosted in Athens, with Martin Jeffrey and Robert Swift attending. Panayotis Pantazis, the new KO2 world power gets the title over Spyros Paraschis on goal difference. On January 21st, I release the KOA Tournaments Database, an archive of Kick Off 2 tournaments results & statistics. Some members that joined the KOA during that period: Panayotis Pantazis, Yakos Tsimbidis, Garinho, Luigi Freguglia. Jacob Kofoed (Sweden): Although nearly three years has passed since i first made acquaintance with the KOA, it still feels like it was yesterday that i realized there were other people sharing my passion for this utterly fantastic football game. Now I find it very hard to imagine a world without you all. To all of KOA, I send my best wishes for a bright and flourishing future. Happy Birthday! February – April 2003: The Ultimate Player Manager shares are no longer available for purchase. Steve gives us the first Kick Off 2004 progress report on February 28th. Spyros Paraschis releases the Stat Analyser, a program that reads the KOA Tournaments Database and allows better stats manipulation in a better user interface.

The Stat Analyser 6 tournaments are played and Spyros gets his first title. The Spanish hold their first international gathering with Nazim Choudhury attending, yet once again Rodolfo Martin wins it. Some members that joined the KOA during that period: Jubigala, Marios Karayanis May – July 2003: The 20th of May is a day of grief for the KOA as Anco's owner Anil Gupta dies. Soon Anco goes bankrupt and Steve Screech & Anthony Kyne start a new company called Floodlit Software. The first Kick Off 2004 beta is ready and the gameplay improvements are visible right away. The CAPS release a perfect 1.4e that works with WinUAE, however it still can't be transferred to an Amiga disk. Vagelis Daskalos, one of the first members who signed to the KOA returns and gives us a Greek version of Kick Off 2, plus some hacking tutorials, which I use to make a KOA version that features our members as players and some new pitches. A replay competition is held. Nikos Andreou and Alkis Polyrakis win the best goal award, while the Dutch Martin gets the rarest replay award. 19 tournaments are held and Vagelis becomes player number 100 to enter a KOA tournament. The Pedro Quaresma (Portugal): Happy birthday to the KOA and a great year for all the Kick Off 2 players! finalists of the upcoming world cup show their strength; Gianluca wins the Italian championships in Milan while Martin Jeffrey gets his first tournament victory in Wolverhampton and two more titles right after that against Rikki Fullarton who is defeated for the first time.

The Greek Kick Off 2 version

The KOA version's 'Sandy' pitch Some members that joined the KOA during that period: Vagelis Daskalos, Gianni Torchio, Nick Housden. Jorg Panhorst (Germany): Happy Birthday, KOA! The page/community is great and an innovative way to link KO participants from all over the world. I really believe that people who are resourceful and have real determination are the ones who will succeed in the end. Best wishes for much continued success in the future. God Bless all of the efforts, and keep up the good work. August – October 2003: 9 Kick Off 2 tournaments are played in this trimester and Martin Jeffrey becomes the English champion after topping a 17 players league in Sheffield. After that tournament, the KOAers decide that they've had enough of Rikki Fullarton's behavior and let him know that he is no longer welcome among them. Nikos Andreou wins his first tournaments. The first German KOA tournament is held in Igersheim on September, while Klaus wins three more Norwegian leagues. Steve Screech is letting us know that he is negotiating with a major company and that makes the future of the new Kick Off games look shady. The last UPM progress report we ever see is posted on August 31st. Robert Swift sets up an SMS service that will send free world cup reports to all the people who will subscribe to it. Some members start wondering what would happen if someone scored 100 goals in Kick Off 2, so I thought I'd try it: I beat the Amiga 117-0 in a 40 minutes game. A help file that helps people install Kick Off 2 using the WinUAE emulator and working with data disks is released.

The 100th goal Some members that joined the KOA during that period: John G, Andy B, Christian Dietz, Matthias Dietz. November 2003 – January 2004: The first issue of The Aftertouch is released. Gianluca Troiano wins the world cup in Groningen by defeating Martin Jeffrey 2-3 in the 1st final and drawing 3-3 in the second one. The CAPS release version 1.4e on an Amiga disk. The initial Danny Dinneen (Ireland): As Ireland celebrates the EU presidency, the Irish kickoff fans would like to wish the Kick Off Association a happy 3rd birthday. As said in our native Irish language "Maith an fear tusa!". enthusiasm is followed by disappointment as the version is buggy and crashes very often. The new member Jesper steps in to save the day as he realizes what went wrong and manages to give us a fully working 1.4e version on December 16th. In addition, he posts proof that the penalty box dribble was not caused by the Oracle crack. Spyros Paraschis releases the Tournament Scheduler. 11 more tournaments are held; James Lockerbie gets his first tournament victory, Glenn Loite wins the Norwegian Championships and Luigi Freguglia wins a 7 players tourney in Milan.

Klaus Loite receives the Top Scorer's trophy in Groningen Some members that joined the KOA during that period: Claire Rossiter, Galahad, Waynie, Jesper, Philippe C, Kostas Limas, Jorg Panhorst, Wolf Heyer. THE FUTURE Where do we go from here? When will it end? I don't have the answers to these questions. One thing's for sure, we have accomplished much more than we had ever dared to wish for. There seems to be an infinite number of Kick Off fans that are willing to revive the glory days, and it is certain that there are many more out there who haven't heard of the KOA yet. The regulars haven't grown tired of the game yet and they are always willing to host tournaments. We have every reason to be optimistic. The increase of fast Internet connections will probably make online Jørn Flagtvedt (Norway): For the KOA-birthday in February I wish peace and prosperity to the KOA, I wish that somehow we will find a way to complete UPM and KO2004 and I wish for myself to be able to attend the 4th WC in Milan in November and fight for the SOS. Love - Freshmaker (Jorn F.) The FAKO (Federation Arctic Kick Off) tournaments possible for more members soon. The only troubling news at the moment are the doubts we have regarding the future of the new era Kick Off games. We can only hope that things will turn out well. Whatever happens, one thing's for sure: as long as there are Amigas for Kick Off 2, PCs for Kick Off 2002 and 8-way digital joysticks to play with, we'll keep on going. Happy birthday KOA. February 2004

# Player Country Points 1 Martin J England 2392 2 Rikki F England 2225 3 Alkis P Greece 2172 4 Klaus Lo Norway 2003 5 Gianluca T Italy 1931 6 Nikos A Greece 1812 7 Panayotis P Greece 1808 8 Martin B England 1674 9 Spyros P Greece 1622 10 Robert S England 1602 11 Mark P Netherlands 1573 12 Steve C England 1559 13 Bill V Greece 1515 14 Trevor D England 1454 15 George K Greece 1353 16 Luigi F Italy 1216 17 Simon B England 1199 18 James L England 1197 19 James B England 1165 20 Nazim C England 1163 Steve Screech decided on a set of rules & regulations before the first World Cup in Dartford, and the KOA continued to use those rules in the tournaments that followed with few changes. Although each group of KOAers is free to organize their tournaments with whatever settings they wish (as long as they're 2x5 games on Kick Off 2), the world cup rules are always almost the same. Due to the increasing demand of several players for changes, and inspired by Bill's interview on this month's issue which raised plenty of interesting points, I decided to write this article. I will try to describe the current rules and the possible changes that can be applied, giving the pros and cons of each one, without stating my personal preference. Hopefully, it will come in handy when the time for discussions comes. Let me start by saying that I and other players who have been in the association since the first days have been accused in the past of stubbornness and fear of change. I'd like to point out that that is not the case. Just because we do not agree with some people, it does not mean that we disrespect them or that we do not discuss with them first. There is also the major issue of who gets to decide. We may talk and run polls in the forums as much as we want to, but what if we actually go to the tournament only to find out that the majority of the people who made it there do not like the rules? After all, in every world cup there is a significant number of people who do not visit the forums frequently or at all. Do we have the right to decide for them? That's why we have insisted so far on choosing settings as close to the default as possible. Perhaps the best idea would be for each world cup's participants to decide on the rules. However, considering that people join the WC and drop out of it till the last minute, that's also a problem. Should we vote right before the tournament begins? But that would mean that we would travel to the tournament without even knowing which settings we should practice with. Taking all of the above under consideration, I would like to propose the following: The discussions on the World Cup rules can begin at any time we like during the year. The sooner the better. Everyone will have the right to express their opinions, whether they are going to Milan or not. 6 weeks before the World Cup, we can hold polls for all open issues on which only the confirmed players will have the right to vote. That will give us a set of definite rules voted by the majority of the players who will compete in the greatest KOA tournament of the year, roughly a month before the actual date. That's plenty of time for practice. I've been in the KOA since its first days and in my opinion that solution is the fairest. I will now cite the current KOA World Cup rules, the possible changes that can be made and the pros & cons of each case. I repeat that what you are about to read does not reflect my personal opinion; it's a collection of arguments expressed by several KOA members in the forums. Current rule: All games are played on Normal Pitch. Suggestion: All games should be played on Random (Normal, Wet, Soggy or Plastic) Pitch.

The plastic pitch in the standard KOA version

Pros: If that change is applied, variety will be added to the tournament and all matches will cease to look so much alike. The players will be given the chance to test their adaptability to different gameplay conditions. People who feel that the game has nothing more to contribute to them will find have a new territory to explore. Cons: Luck will become an important factor in world cups, as one may have to play crucial matches on pitches that he doesn't feel comfortable with, while his immediate opponents may be more fortunate. The vertical stripes of the plastic pitch may cause motion sickness to some people, however that can be easily arranged as we are now capable of changing the graphics of the field, so in the world cup we can us a version with an all-green plastic pitch. The altered plastic pitch in the KOA version Current rule: All games are played with no wind. Suggestion: Some games should be played with the light wind option on. Pros: If that change is applied, scoring will become more difficult, and therefore more challenging. Standard goals like pixel-perfect long balls and perimeter shots will no longer be so easy to make. We might see more surprise results. If combined with the random pitch rule, the matches will be a lot more varied than those of previous world cups with standard settings. Cons: Again, luck will be an important factor as the wind has different strength levels. Controlling the ball may prove to be quite hard for the weaker players. Some people claim that wind ruins the game for them as they do not enjoy it at all.

Current rule: Team A gets to choose the version, all other settings are fixed. Suggestion: Team B should be able to choose whether random pitch and light wind options will be on or off. Pros: If that change is applied, every player will get to play a significant number of games using his favorite settings, as opposed to fixed settings he may not like. The Team A/B difference will be more balanced. Cons: The games order will play a major role in the tournament, especially who gets to play as Team A first in playoff games as the players may adjust the settings according to the result they want to get. This can be fixed by forcing the participants to choose their Team B settings in the beginning of the world cup, with no right to change them. Current rule: The players are not allowed to make lineup changes before the game. Suggestion: Lineup changes should be allowed. Pros: If that change is applied, people will be able to personalize their team according to their liking. Placing good shooters on the field will eliminate the missed chances caused by clumsy shots. Cons: When we have to play 210 games in a single day, 14 games for each player, any time loss should be considered. Perhaps a better idea would be to agree on a predetermined lineup with the best players on the pitch for everyone to use.

Current rule: Standard International Level Team A / B teams are used. Suggestion: The use of Player Manager teams should be allowed. Pros: Player Manager teams are very close to perfection. The players will be fast throughout the entire match, and their shots will be straight.

A player from a good Player Manager team is much more skilful than the average Team A/B player Cons: Not everyone has played Player Manager so asking people to bring their own teams is not fair. Besides, there are no guarantees that some will not use a Hex Editor to create a perfect team. Just like the previous rule, maybe one very good team for all is the best solution. Teams that are near perfection may result to elimination of fluke goals that give the extra variety to the game. Current rule: Only the default 4-2-4, 4-3-3, 4-4-2 and 5-3-2 tactics are allowed. Suggestion: The additional Balanced, Blitz, Falcon and Lockout tactics should be allowed as well.

Blitz Lockout Pros: Some of the players' favorite tactics are the extra ones. Everyone will have the chance to practice with and against those formations as they exist in every Kick Off 2 disk. Most of the KOA's games are 4-2-4 against 4-2-4, or 4-2-4 against 5-3-2, or 5-3-2 against 5-3-2. More tactics will result to more varied games. Cons: The additional tactics are considered extreme by some KOAers. They can fill the defender's or the attacker's penalty box with players by the touch of a button. That can change a game's course dramatically, especially during set pieces.

Current rule: Only the default 4-2-4, 4-3-3, 4-4-2 and 5-3-2 tactics are allowed. Suggestion: Custom tactics created with the Player Manager editor should be allowed as well. Pros: The KOAers will have the chance to test their managerial skills. Variety will increase. Cons: Again, not everyone has played Player Manager and even fewer have mastered the Tactics Editor. The absence of the offside rule allows all sorts of ridiculous moves, such as placing players on the goal line. Current rule: Team A wears an all-yellow kit, Team B an all-dark blue kit. Suggestion: Everyone should be allowed to choose their favorite kits.

The Kit Design Editor Pros: If that change is applied, people will get to use their favorite kits and feel like they're playing with their own team. Cons: Time loss again; that rule change may result to continuing starting & quitting games until the color clash is avoided. The problem becomes more serious if we consider that some of the members are partially color blind. 8 KOA Kick Off 2 tournaments have taken place since the last issue of The Aftertouch:

London XIII Date: 16/12/2004 Players: 4 Winner: Robert S Best offense: Robert S Best defence: Robert S, James L Norwegian Championships Date: 23/12/2004 Players: 15 Winner: Glenn L Best offense: Glenn L Best defence: Glenn L

Igersheim II Date: 25/12/2004 Players: 4 Winner: Christian D Best offense: Christian D Best defence: Christian D

Milan II Date: 27/12/2004 Players: 7 Winner: Luigi F Best offense: Luigi F Best defence: Gianni T Osnaburgh I Date: 9/1/2004 Players: 4 Winner: Jorg P Best offense: Jorg P Best defence: Thomas N

Athens XXIV Date: 11/1/2004 Players: 5 Winner: Alkis P Best offense: Alkis P Best defence: Alkis P

Athens XXV Date: 18/1/2004 Players: 7 Winner: Nikos A Best offense: Alkis P Best defence: Nikos A

London XIV Date: 26/1/2004 Players: 6 Winner: Robert S Best offense: Robert S Best defence: Robert S By Robert Swift INTRODUCTION

Alkis asked me to write these articles for The Aftertouch because I am acknowledged as the person who has wasted the most of their life playing Player Manager. Well, let's start by setting the record straight - it's definitely James Lockerbie. OK so what do you want to know? Maybe you don't. In which case bugger off. But, if you are someone who thinks Player Manager is unimportant and does not need to be part of your life, maybe I can first persuade or shame you into thinking again? Call yourself KO2 players? And you don't use Player Manager? What kind of bastards are you? So why should you want to play Player Manager? It's just like KO2 without the aftertouch and players that by and large can't kick straight. I am not sure even I can answer this. But here is my answer. There are two reasons why you might want to play Player Manager: Play it as a management simulation Develop teams and tactics to enhance your variety and enjoyment of Kick Off 2. I can give advice on both. But I have to be clear now that the two objectives above are pretty exclusive. You can't really pursue both at the same time. And you will see why later. I am going to keep my advice covering both areas, but because I use Player Manager for reason (2) you are going to see a bias towards this.

YOUR PLAN FOR WORLD DOMINATION

OK this is going to take more than one Aftertouch article. Here is the plan I propose to follow: Getting Started Beginning the game Winning matches and getting promoted Building the ultimate team: Planning Building the ultimate team: Player Searching Building the ultimate team: Player Development Tactics: How to design and what they teach you about KO2

STARTING OUT

OK, so what do you need? Well, you are going to need an Amiga and an original disk of PM if at all possible. Alkis seems to be quite happy on the PC using an emulator but if you're going to do that the he's going to need to write an article about getting started on WinUAE and transferring files to Amiga format. Remind me not to be there when he gives that explanation. An original disk is better because if you have a crack, the saves may just for some reason not work fully with KO2. I have seen it before and it shook the pillars of my world. Also, an original has just enough space on it for one saved game - and this is crucial for player searching. You will also need a blank disk. OK, so put your disk into the Amiga and turn on. If you have an A1200 you are going to need to hold down the mouse buttons and do that trick of Disabling CPU Caches etc. In fact a mouse is pretty important. I should have mentioned that! If all is well, this is what happens next: You will see a fantastic piece of artwork by Steve Screech You see the Player Manager title screen with 3 Blue Boxes Click on New Game and WAIT Choose a name for your team. THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. Think carefully because you can never change this. My personal preference is to name the teams I create after real football teams. As a result I now have 8 teams from the English League, like Arsenal, Chelsea etc. If anyone wants to start 'Manchester United' then you are welcome because I hate them and could never be bothered to make one. Next thing you need to check, is that the player you've been given is a Forward. If not, let's cut the crap, you should simply reboot. Unless you are playing as a SIM then you absolutely have to have one decent player for the first two seasons that can shoot straight, run fast and score all your goals. Select PLAY AS TEAM. You are a KO2 master and will use your elite skills to benefit all of your little men. Don't worry about editing the league. Put your blank disk in when prompted and click OK! You have started! From this point onwards I am going to assume you have the manual or a basic understanding of the interface. OK, so what are your objectives? If you are playing as a SIM then you don't really have any. It's just a case of playing the game and doing what you think is best. If you are playing to make a team for KO2, then here's the surprise. Your mission is to get promoted from Div 3 to Div 2 and win the FA cup. It is imperative that you do this. Why? Because you need the money for buying the players to make that ultimate team? But why not buy cheap bargains and turn them into world-beaters (or wife beaters)? Because this is not possible in Player Manager. Player values are calculated mathematically according to ability scores. Player abilities change once per season, but not enough to turn a crap player into a legend. You need CASH. Lots of it, so that when the ultimate players become available you are able to buy them instantly without haggling or needing to sell players to generate cash. And these great players that are far better than the built-in KO2 teams are expensive. They cost over 1000k. Yes that's right, you can get players costing more than 1000k. But how the hell are you going to win the league and cup with this bunch of wasters? Well, you've got three things in your favour. Firstly your elite KO2 skills. Secondly, your Player Manager who will be a pretty decent player in division 3. Thirdly - and wonderfully - you have the ability to save before games and reload them if you lose!!! If you have a problem with this then stop right now. Play the game as a SIM. But don't expect to make fantastic teams if you are not prepared to 'cheat'. Yes, it's cheating, but cheating as oppose to hacking which is an entirely different matter. OK, that's nearly all for this edition, but the last thing I'd like you to do is take a look at your team. Click on THE SQUAD in the top left. You'll have a mixture of Keepers, Defenders, Midfielders and Forwards. If you click on them, on the left hand side of the screen, you will see their stats. The right hand shows you their transfer value and contract status.

EXPLAINING THE STATS

Position Doesn't affect the way they play but affects the player value. The positions that have been assigned to your players are due to their Skills. Highest tackling and they are a defender, passing and the are a midfielder, keeping and they are a keeper etc. All you need to remember now is that position is something that you can change in The Squad menu. And you will be doing this at some point. Age Players peak at around 23. I will explain this another time. Older players are slower and have higher skills. Height This affects whether players will win headers. If two are jumping for the same ball at the same time, the higher one will win. Weight Light players are easily pushed over by heavier ones. This does not mean however that the heaviest players can't be pushed over by lighter ones. But, in general, don't buy light players <55kg except for certain roles. They are really not so hot as central defenders for example. Pace How fast the player runs. The maximum is 200 and close to that is what you're going to want for your ultimate players. Agility Tough one to explain this. It appears that this is not an in-match stat but affects the rate at which players' abilities increase as they approach their peak. Why it should be called Agility is anyone's guess. Your players generally don't want less than 160 Agility. It will mess up their value amongst other things. Stamina All players get tired during the matches. Their pace will drop and they will get slower. Stamina determines the rate at which they do this. Your amazing players are generally going to have over 180 Stamina or they are not going to be up to the task. Resilience Propensity of the player to get injured by tackles. Aim for a minimum of 160 on a finished player. Aggression More or less irrelevant as far as I can tell. Best theory is that players with higher aggression do more auto slides. But there is very little difference in a 10 and 190 aggression player. Does not seem to affect player value. Morale Affects whether the player wants to stay or leave your club. To boost morale, simply pick the player for games. They can get unhappy by being left out or set in a 'class' they don't like, i.e. Defender when they want to be a Forward. Passing When you stop, trap the ball, point the stick and release - this is a pass. Players with high passing will send an accurate weighted ball. Players with low passing can just about send it anywhere making the control useless. Depending on their function and your style of play, your players are going to need Passing of around 150. Shooting Quite simply two things. First, how straight and accurate is the kick of the player. Second, how hard is it, i.e. how likely is the receiving keeper to go 'ouch!' and fumble the ball rather than hold it. This is a very important skill. Your main goal scorers require higher than 170. However even your defenders are going to need 100+ or they will be like M.M.Barrett and not kick the ball straight. You just can't build a team with players like that. In every case, the higher Shooting the better. Tackling Again, affects two things. When players collide, this is a block tackle. The one with the highest Tackling is more likely to be standing at the end of it. The other thing it affects is whether slide tackles end up as fouls or as you winning the ball. Your defenders are going to need 170+ in this skill. The higher the better. And it's a benefit for all players to develop this skill. Keeping Essential that your goalkeeper is going to have 180+ in this when he is 'finished'. 190+ is better. A high score in this means that they are 'safe hands' rather than 'butterfingers'. Shots will be saved. There will be fewer blunders and stupid errors. Lobs are less likely to go in. Shots are not dropped as much. I think you can see the desirability of this skill. OK - that's all for this edition. Get to know your team. Yes, I know, based on the above they are currently crap. That's the point. If you loaded them into KO2 then they would be minced. But the players you are going to buy will change this, and it's going to be great! Your own personalised ultimate bunch of KO2 warriors! Get ready…it's going to be fun. Benefactor: An underrated yet great game

Review by Nikos Andreou

A few months ago, I was discussing with an old friend about classic gaming. We used to spend most of the time in the late 80s and early 90s playing games together. 15 years later, he still believes that games with small sprites are always good games. We ended up with a list of games with tiny sprites, and to my surprise, most of them were indeed very good. On top of the list were Lemmings and Worms. I added a game on that list that I really liked, Benefactor. Benefactor was released in 1994, the worst year in Amiga history. Commodore was officially dead and the PCs started to demonstrate some decent games. Most games on the Amiga were soccer games (!) and the majority was really bad. As a result, only hardcore Amiga gamers had the luck to play it. Benefactor was published by Psygnosis but it was the work of Digital Illusions, the same company that made the excellent Pinball Dreams and its sequels. The presentation of the game is nothing special. The intro is a poor Star Wars scroller with a few pictures thrown in for good. You press the fire button and the game starts. First thought was “this doesn’t look very nice”. The graphics were in 32 colors with tiny sprites. The background was nothing special and although the scenery was referring to India (with Buddha statues etc), the music sounded Egyptian to me!

So, after the above, you may wonder why this game is reviewed here, right? Well Benefactor is one of the most addictive games I played in my life. The concept of the game is simple. In each level, there are a number of dwarfs or kids. I can’t really say, since the little fellas are so small that I can’t say for sure!!! Anyway, the little fellas are locked in cages. Your sprite, a man in green uniform has to free the little fellas and make sure they get to the exit. To do so you have to climb several platforms without falling down, avoid falling rocks, find keys that open the cages and avoid enemy sprites. Even though you have to save the little fellas, you can also use them (!) to your quest to progress further. How can you do that? You can grab them and throw them to platforms that you can’t reach!!! By doing that, they can help you to reach keys, switches and so on. Another thing that I need to mention is that these little fellas have higher IQ than Lemmings! You don’t need to worry so much about them. Feeling better now? Benefactor is not a typical platform game. It has many puzzles that require wise use of the available resources and at the same time, it combines all aspects of a good platform game. The difficulty curve is fine and it helps you get into the game. At the end of each level you get a password that you can use to start the game from that level. Benefactor is just another game with excellent playability. You always play this game by saying “One more level, one more level” and you end up playing for hours. It inherits the best aspects of games like Lemmings, Lode runner, Impossible Mission and Rick Dangerous and adds some more to achieve excellence. Highly recommended. .

Graphics 72% Sound 69% Playability 90% Durability 93% OVERALL: 90%